Aussie shows you can't afford to miss and my love affair with British Empire fare
Australia is Earth's smallest continent, but it rivals any place in the quality of its film and TV productions, especially in the last decade
A few years ago, I discovered Acorn TV. It wasn’t enough that we had linear TV, Netflix, HBO Go, Prime, and the OTT extensions of our favorite cable networks at the time like AMC, FX or Showtime.
Acorn TV, for those of you unfamiliar with the over-the-top media streaming Internet service is for those of us who can’t get enough of British empire film and TV fare - that includes British, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian gems as well as Ireland, France, Italy and Spain.
As a child who learned to love “literature” thru imports like Anne of Green Gables and any Agatha Christie (excepting her later in life fare), I’ve always treasured stories from another time and place, fantasizing what it might be like to be a posh female detective with a flapper hair cut and a “devil-may-care” attitude (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) or an older, more mature Miss Marple played by Joan Hickson who outwits everyone and is always underestimated, which also happens to be her superpower.
No one ever suspects a sweet, nice old lady like Miss Marple of dabbling so deeply in the macabre or having enough wits about her to expertly solve a complex crime. Btw, in all honesty, I probably enjoyed David Suchet’s Poirot even more than Miss Marple. Poirot was also an “outsider” - an eccentric Belgian detective in England, but he used his differences to surprise those around him and shake things up and he nearly always.
I’ve since abandoned my membership to Acorn TV out of money guilt, but there are shows I first came upon there, that are worth mentioning in this Aussie post.
Spoiler alert: The shows below span from historical fiction serials to crime stories to kids’ shows. In other words, there’s something for almost everyone, except Sci-Fi and Fantasy fans. Sorry, could never get into those genres.
#1 - A Place to Call Home on Acorn TV. (6 seasons) This one my mother-in-law turned me on to and I’m so glad she did. It takes place in Australia in post WW2 and deals with the social and economic realities of adapting to post-war life. It centers around Sarah Adams, a convert to Judaism, and a nurse who settles into a small town in Australia. There she meets the friends who will become her adopted family and finds love. It’s been hailed as a “Down Under Downton” (and that’s catchy) although one could argue different country, different era, I get the soapy, dramatic Upstairs, Downstairs comparisons.
#2 Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries on Acorn TV. I’ve addressed my love for this show already, but wouldn’t feel right not classifying it here.
Essie Davis is phenomenal as modernly marvelous 1920s flapper, spy, self-sufficient, resident smarty, bold detective Phryne Fisher. There’s intrigue, mystery, and love. What more could you (being an Agatha Christie fan) want?
#3 Keeping Faith on Acorn TV. (3 seasons) Successful husband disappears from a seemingly idyllic life in a Welsh town where his beautiful, smart wife is the key suspect. It’s a modern day (yes, I figured I throw a bone) crime caper and Faith is trying to piece together the image of the man she knew as husband with the clues she’s collecting. Note: Not Aussie but Acorn TV related.
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#4 Foyle’s War on Acorn TV. (9 seasons) Takes place during WW2 and post year wars. Widower Detective, DCI Foyle investigating crimes in England with the assistance of his driver “Sam” Stewart. As you can imagine the rich history of the time period lends itself to some great, provocative storytelling (treason, espionage, spy stuff) and the show has been commended for its historical accuracy. Note: Not Aussie but Acorn TV related.
#5 Offspring on Netflix. (7 seasons) Another repost but worth the plug again. It’s SO good.
This Aussie import is high on the #familyfeels meter. Its heroine and protagonist is played by Asher Keddie who shines as Nina Proudman, a very neurotic doctor, sister, daughter, and friend who is looking for love - usually at her place of work. The show focuses on Nina but it also spends equal amount of time on the Proudman family (her sister, brother and very unorthodox parents) and their foibles. You will laugh, cry and swoon and care deeply for these characters.
#6 Sisters on Netflix. (1 season) Not to be mistaken for the 2015 Amy Poehler, Tina Fey film of the same name for those of you doing a Google search right now. If ever there was a show I’d petition to have a second season made for, it would be this show. A very farcical plot which centers around Julia Bechly (curly haired woman in the center of the pic below) who finds out that her father used his sperm in IVF procedures which ultimately leads her down a path of searching for exponentially more siblings. It was good fun and ultimately, too short of a run.
#7 The Letdown on Netflix. (2 seasons)
Postpartum and suffering from the stress that is motherhood and its expectations, new mom Audrey lives her life authentically and holds nothing back. Add in the social mix of her new mothers’ group and her overworked partner and you have a recipe for a dramedy.
Watch a funny scene from the show below:
#8 Secret City on Netflix. Changing course from female-led dramedies, we have Secret City which plays more like a House of Cards type political thriller. At the heart of the story is journo Harriet Dunkley (Anna Torv, Fringe) who stumbles upon a potential government cover up. What ensues goes deeper and more insidious than you’d expect in the art of war, politics and selling stories that the public will buy all the while keeping secrets even if they cost people their lives.
#9 The InBESTigators on Netflix. (2 seasons) This one is ripe for family watching. Clever kids become good friends and run their own detective agency and adults kinda, sorta take them seriously even. Besides, this show started my daughter’s ability to perfect her Aussie accent and say “Maudie” in perfect Aussie style.
#10 Izzy’s Koala World on Netflix. (2 seasons) Bonus kids’ show: Izzy, is a child caretaker for koalas and she and her family rescue koalas and get them ready for life in the wild. Beautiful scenery and can’t get enough of those koalas.